More and more, mountain lions are tragically being injured or killed on the heavily-trafficked roads outside Los Angeles that cut through their mountain habitat. And as sprawling development consumes significant portions of the remaining green spaces in our country’s largest metropolitan areas, wildlife habitat is becoming increasingly fragmented by roads. But fortunately, there are ways to help animals safely avoid traffic through the creation of wildlife overpasses or tunnels. Here are a few of our favorites that are providing safe crossings for wildlife!
A desert tortoise exits a culvert retrofitted for wildlife to safely cross beneath a highway in the Mohave Desert. Photo: William I. Boarman, U.S. Geological Survey.Threatened desert tortoises were at risk of being run over by traffic as they tried to cross a highway that cuts through their habitat in the Mohave Desert. So wildlife experts and transportation officials teamed up to transform culverts running under the highway to serve as wildlife passageways. The culvert underpasses are now flush with the ground, and edged with small, soil-covered boulders to make it easy for the tortoises to enter and exit. The desert tortoise are using them, but at a leisurely pace – it took one tortoise seven hours of stopping and starting to get through one of the culvert underpasses!
Red Crab Crossings
On Australia’s Christmas Island, underground crossings provide safe passage for the annual red crab migration. Photo: Parks Australia.Scientists estimate there are tens of millions of red crabs living on Australia’s Christmas Island. And every year as the crabs make their spectacular pilgrimage from the forest towards the ocean to breed, up to 500,000 die – many from being crushed by vehicles while crossing roads. To reduce the number of crabs killed by vehicles during the migration, ‘crab crossings’ are being created where roads cross main crab migration paths. Tunnels have been built under the road for the crabs and walls alongside the road help ‘funnel’ the migrating crabs through the underground crossings.
Safe Passage for Elephants
The elephant underpass in Africa is connecting families of elephants around Lewa with isolated herds living on Mount Kenya, which helps to increase the genetic diversity and overall health of the species. Photo: Lewa Wildlife ConservancyAfrica’s first dedicated elephant highway underpass in Kenya links wilderness areas on Mount Kenya’s highlands and the lower forests and plains. Many experts were skeptical at first – doubting that the elephants would be comfortable with passing beneath a freeway. However, the safe crossing for elephants is a tremendous success with hundreds of elephants travelling up and down every year. China and India have elephant underpasses too, and India even has elephant overpasses.
Salamander Tunnels
One night every spring, spotted salamanders leave their underground forest homes and migrate to wetland ponds to breed. Oftentimes they are killed crossing roads during migration. Photo: Mark Picard, FHWAWildlife enthusiasts in Amherst, Massachusetts volunteered for years to come out on a (usually) rainy evening, stop traffic and safely carry migrating salamanders across a busy road. They were trying to reduce the number of salamanders killed by traffic as they crossed the road on their migration from the forest to vernal pools for mating and to lay eggs. The local department of public works worked with conservation groups, the University of Massachusetts and others to create two underpasses for the salamanders to use during spring migration. The two tunnels were built at the salamanders crossing site, complete with fences to guide them into the tunnels and with openings at the top to provide the requisite dampness for the salamander’s travels.